A Break Down of Running Lingo

When I started running a few years back I honestly had no idea how much my vocabulary would grow, just like my fitness. 

As I'm often asked by non running friends what certain words means I thought I'd put together a little jargon buster. 

Chip time - Your official time of the run which is recorded as your cross the starting mat and then end once you cross the finish line. 

Carb loading - When you increase the number of carbs you eat in the run up to race day.

Candence - The number of steps you take per minute. 

DOMS - Or delayed onset muscle soreness. This is the pain you may feel the day after you have ran or worked out. 

DNF - Did not finish, where you start a race and simply didn't finish. 

Fartlek - The Swedish term for speed play (or interval training). Sprint as fast as you can for a short distance before returning to your usual speed before sprinting again. 

Good For Age - Where you qualify for entry for race based on a previous finishing time and your age. 

Hill Reps - Running up and down hills repeatedly. 

Strava - A bit like instagram for runners. You upload your run and it records your route and your friends get to like and comment. 

Splits -  The time it takes you to run a mile during a mulimile run. 

Strike - Where your foot hits the ground. 

Strides - Usually around 80 metres or 100 metres surges. Which increase speed and are sandwiches between a training run. 

Pace - How fast you run per mile or KM. 

PB - Personal Best, the best time you've ran a distance or a particular route. 

Garmin - The running watch I use that calculates my distance, time and route. 


Recover Run - A slow short run usually after a hard run or race to just keep your body moving. 

Tempo Run - A run at an average pace. Your not going all out but you're not slacking. 

I hope that helps anyone who has to listen to me talk about running but doesn't actually understand what I am saying. 

Shop the outfit:

Headband - Decathlon
Jacket - Decathlon 
Gloves - Decathlon 
Leggings - Nike 
Trainers - New Balance 

A Break Down of Running Lingo 

*I was kindly sent the Decathlon gloves, headband and jacket.